Penn State launched the World Campus Corporate Alliance Program on Thursday with the Siemens Corp. as the first company on board.

The program allows employees of partnering businesses an online and in-person education, as well as tuition reimbursement as part of their employer’s benefit packages, the university said in a news release.

Dave Aneckstein, a spokesman for Penn State Outreach, said Outreach and the World Campus will work with major businesses to get discounted tuition rates for employers.

“The idea was to come up with a way to bring our student population up and to reach that goal by offering great benefits to new company hirees with tuition benefits or discount credits,” Aneckstein said.

Aneckstein said the program has “been in the works for a little while,” and added that the World Campus’ goal is to get 45,000 students.

Craig Weidemann, vice president for Outreach and vice provost for Online Education, said Siemens is already partners with Penn State in research, collaboration and internships.

“We are very excited that this expanded relationship will allow World Campus to provide professional development opportunities to Siemens employees,” Weidemann said in a statement.

On Friday, Siemens CEO Eric Spiegel attended an official document signing ceremony at the Business Building on Penn State’s campus.